This award provides funds to the Department of Social Ecology at the University of California, Irvine to establish a Research Experiences for Undergraduates SITE in the discipline of social ecology. Undergraduates in this program will be mentored by a faculty member in the Program of Social Ecology and will participate in a major research project. Each student participant will learn about the research approaches of the other students and faculty in the program during periodic receptions and seminars. Students will also participate in workshops on the GRE, application to graduate school, and will be provided with tutoring and academic counseling tailored to their individual needs. At the beginning of winter quarter each involved faculty member will meet with the group to discuss the research area of the undergraduate whom he/she will mentor. Throughout winter and spring faculty will build a personal mentorship relationship with their student through the vehicle of the research project. The research activities of the group will focus on recurring social and environmental problems related to crime and justice in society, social influences on human development over the life cycle, and effects of the physical environment on health and behavior. Research techniques are designed to reveal human adaption by concentration on the study of events in the natural settings in which they occur. Near the end of spring quarter all students will present their results to the group. Finally, students will be formally and informally encouraged to continue research activities and the mentorship relationship and to pursue an academic career.
